


It's all about family

by UmiAzuma



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Javert Survives, Because of Reasons, Community: makinghugospin, F/M, Family, Gen, I Don't Even Know, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, Valjean wants to get married, What Have I Done, filling my own prompt like yeah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-01
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-28 02:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmiAzuma/pseuds/UmiAzuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title might change in the future, give me ideas, I suck at titles.</p><p>Filling my own prompt like yeah.</p><p>REWORDING my own prompt like yeah.</p><p>Javert's family comes to Paris looking for him because his mother is really old and is dying, he's not amused, but Valjean seems eager to know more about them and lets them stay at their home, much to Javert's chagrin. </p><p>They may or may not teach him a valuable lesson about the fact that, no matter how much you try, sometimes you really can't run from your roots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Peter_Yellowhammer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peter_Yellowhammer/gifts).



> I've tried to make this as respectful as possible based on what little knowledge I've been collecting on Romani people. I've tried, please be kind.
> 
> A very special thank you goes to Peter_Yellowhammer, who encouraged me to go on with this and is a very special snowflake who deserves lots of love :3

Cielo was sixteen years old, her eyes shone blue and her long, dark brown hair fell on her back in a thick braid. This morning Cielo had decided to adorn her braid with small flowers, the morning was fresh and the birds sang eagerly. Spring had started a few weeks back and the trees were green and the flowers bloomed beautifully. The caravan was getting ready to leave to another city to share its wonders.

Now it was afternoon, and Cielo had just finished taking down her mother’s and her clean clothes from a long rope tied to two nearby trees. She put them in a small hand basket and walked back to her family’s cart, illuminated dimly by a few candles.

She hadn’t meant to listen, she really hadn’t. 

“Sassori, please don’t cry...” Her mother said, and Cielo could hear her grandmother weeping. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Cielo stayed outside, the basket hugged against her chest. “Sassori, please stop, if Cielo comes and sees you weeping, she will ask questions and how are you to answer them?”

“I cannot stop, Nadia, I cannot...” Cielo felt her heart shrink, her grandmother never cried, there had to be a good reason for her to do so. “I have been having terrible dreams, Nadia, terrible dreams... It is my fault that this family has been separated for so long... My life is coming to an end, Nadia, how am I going to face God at the end of my days when I have done nothing to even try to get my family back together? When the oldest son of my family has left us and the youngest son is dead? How will I face God? What will I tell him?”

“Oh, sassori, you are not going to die! Not any time soon!”

“How do you know? I am old! I am old and I have done nothing to try to get my family together, and God will judge me for it! Oh my Emil! My Emil hates me!”

“He doesn’t hate you, sassori...”

“How would you know? He hates me; it’s the only explanation... Why would he leave his home and his family? I must have done something terrible!”

Cielo had heard of her grandmother’s Emil, the oldest son, who would be his uncle, but obviously, since Emil had left the family when her own father wasn’t born yet, she had never met him, and he had never met her. Now her grandmother was suffering because it had been years since she had seen her oldest son.

She was not a mother, her own mother said she was still too young, even though she’d had plenty of suitors, but Cielo could imagine the suffering her grandmother was going through because her oldest son had left her side. If she left, she was certain that her mother would suffer, and if Kavi left, even more, he was younger, still a child. And without their father by her side to take care of her, she would suffer even more!

Determined, Cielo walked into the cart, her mother had a comforting hand on her grandmother’s shoulder, as the old woman continued to weep, Cielo stood in the entrance, looking at the two women.

“Daj...”

“Cielo!” Her mother looked shocked. “How... How much did you hear?”

“Everything, daj... Puri mai, where is Uncle Emil?”

“Cielo, stop now, we don’t know where Emil is!”

“Oh child... If only I knew... The last time I saw him...” Her grandmother sobbed. “We were in Toulon...”

That wasn’t too far away. But Cielo knew from her grandmother that her Emil abandoned her motherly arms when he was Cielo’s age to become a policeman, the exact thing they feared the most. Cielo had seen her grandmother’s scars, she had been in a jail, she had been treated unjustly, worse than an animal, the lack of her left earlobe a clear sign of the inhuman treatment she received.

A policeman... He could be anywhere... He could be dead...

But Cielo was stubborn, that was probably the reason why her grandmother constantly said that she had reminded her of her Emil ever since she came out of her mother’s womb. She let the matter rest for the time being, and when her grandmother went to sleep, she tried to reason with her mother.

“Daj... What if puri mai is going to die soon?”

“Then I will be taking her place reading the cards...” Her mother answered, trying as best as possible to avoid the subject. “As you will do when I die.”

“I didn’t mean that, daj... What if... What if puri mai is going to die, and she never gets to see her Emil ever again?”

“Cielo, don’t start...”

“No, daj, what if she dies? What WILL she tell God? That she let her youngest son be sent to jail and her oldest son become what we fear the most? That her family was reduced to a daughter in law and two grandchildren? What if her Emil is married and has a wife and children who know nothing of his family? Are we going to just pretend that the oldest son of the family did not exist once puri mai dies?”

“Cielo, don’t...”

“We should at least try to find him, at least for puri mai, what if she does die? Her only wish is to see her oldest son again. If I left, wouldn’t you want me to be the last thing you see before you die?”

Cielo felt that her mother was actually considering it, and then felt her hopes shatter when she said what she had thought initially.

“But he could be anywhere, Cielo, and France is so big... And we will not be treated kindly...”

“I guess it is a small price to pay if we want to fulfill puri mai’s wish...”

“Will you ever stop being so stubborn?”

“I hardly think so.”

Her mother sighed, and Cielo felt hope for the first time in many years.

Paris seemed like as good a place as any to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sassori = One of the many words for 'mother in law'  
> Daj = Mother  
> Puri mai = One of many words for 'grandmother' it literally means 'old mother'
> 
> Cielo is the word in Spanish for 'sky', Cielo's mother is not French.
> 
> Like I specified before, I TRIED to handle this in as respectful a way as possible, and that is how I intend for it to remain during future chapters. 
> 
> Also, I'm a busy person, so updates may or may not be pretty slow D:


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really REALLY inspired, so bear with me :3
> 
> Here's some valvert interaction for you guys. Also, enjoy Nina the cat, because I like cats and I want a cat :3

Javert was very bothered.

He had been staying with Valjean for a while now, and although their relationship ever since the incident at the Pont au Change had developed further into something he wasn’t sure he wanted to explain anyone, he still had a hard time sometimes trying to understand Valjean’s moods.

For example, right now, he was sitting by the fire, quietly staring into space, and sometimes he would sigh so hard, Nina, their Russian blue cat (a gift from that silly boy Marius, who called it a gift for his ‘future father’) would look up from her place in his lap, frightened by the sound. It had been this way for a good half an hour now, and Javert was starting to get annoyed, mostly because Nina kept meowing in fright every time it happened and the sighing was getting a little bothersome, he was trying to get job done! He put his papers aside and turned to Valjean.

“What is it now, Jean?” He said, and tried to not sound too strict, but he still startled the older man, who shook a little and finally annoyed Nina, who meowed and left her place in his lap, only to go to the couch and curl up there, it seemed like it moved and sighed less.

“What?”

“What is it now? You’ve been sighing like a lovesick girl whose father has forbidden her to see her suitor. What is wrong?”

“Oh, I just... Nevermind, I’m being silly...”

“If it makes you sigh like that, it can’t be silly, you’re scaring Nina, now speak.”

“It’s just... Cosette is getting married soon...”

“And?” Javert let out an exasperated sigh. “Jean, if this is about her not needing you anymore as soon as she marries; you need to stop right now. She will always need you, you are the only father she knows, when she marries, she’ll need someone to buy souvenirs for when she leaves for her honeymoon, when she gets pregnant, she’ll need someone to complain about her husband to, and when she has children, she’ll need someone to entertain them and tell them stories, I can’t be doing that on my own and that ninny of a lawyer’s uncle won’t be doing that either...”

Valjean glared at him.

“The idea of her getting pregnant eventually bothers me, can we not?”

“It’s the natural course of life, Jean; it has to happen if she is going to marry.”

“I’d rather not talk about it...”

“And I’d rather not see you sulk about your daughter getting married, but we can’t all have what we want, don’t you...” Javert stopped and turned to look at the door, Valjean frowned.

“Is something the matter?”

“Did you hear that?” This time, it was Javert who frowned, and Valjean looked confused, so did Nina, but she had recently decided that her new humans were pretty odd and she had to get used to it if she wanted to survive.

“Hear what?”

They sat there in silence for a while, Javert could have sworn he heard a familiar voice outside the house, a voice he hadn’t heard in a very long time, but since he did not hear it again, he decided to dismiss it as a figment of his imagination, and he shrugged.

“Nevermind. The point here is that I will not let you depress yourself over the fact that your daughter is getting married, hundreds and millions of daughters marry every day and no one dies because of it...”

“Who said I would die?”

“Even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t let you.”

“But Javert, I...”

“I wouldn’t let you, I said!”

“But this isn’t about that!”

“Don’t try and convince me otherwise, you’ve been moping about it ever since that foolish boy got back on his feet, how he managed to survive after diving around half the shit of Paris is beyond me, but you HAVE been moping about Cosette getting married, and don’t even try to deny it!”

“Will you let me talk for once in your life or do I have to force you to shut up like I did on the bridge?”

“We agreed we wouldn’t talk about the bridge, it’s a touchy subject, Jean!”

“Well you won’t let me speak!”

“Well there’s nothing to speak about.”

“There is!”

Nina meowed in annoyance, they both looked at her, and the small gray cat licked her paw and then left the living room, visibly peeved that these two humans were being so silly.

“Alright, speak...” Javert finally said, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

“I was just... Thinking about the fact that Cosette is getting married and...”

“Like I said before, I am NOT...”

“SHUT UP!”

“Alright...”

“As I was saying... Cosette is getting married and... I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do at her wedding or anything, I’ve never been to a wedding, I’ve never seen anyone get married and have never been married myself...”

“To the point, Jean...”

“And then I realized that... I can’t really get married anyway because the person I love is another man...”

“It’s... not illegal...”

“But who WOULD want to marry us anyway?”

“I never said I wanted to marry, aren’t we fine like this? I like things the way they are!”

“But if we could, you wouldn’t marry me?”

“Aren’t we a little too old to be married? I don’t know, Jean, I like things the way they are right now, why complicate them with rings and contracts and promises? I can’t promise you anything, you know I’m not stable enough to promise you anything...”

“Well... You might be right...”

“I’m glad we understand each other. When did Cosette say she would return?”

“I... I really don’t know.” Valjean looked at the small clock on top of the chimney, it was getting late, at this hour, he knew Javert would take his papers and go to the library for some peace and quiet, because Cosette would be back soon and would talk nonstop about Marius and the wedding arrangements.

And he did, as soon as he noticed the time, Javert picked his reports that he was supposed to read (but in all honesty, he hadn’t touched any of them because he didn’t feel like it, and if some silly young officer complained he could tell them that they couldn’t all have everything they wanted) and went to the house’s library, but not to read them...

He still had in his mind that voice he was so sure he had heard... He hadn’t heard that voice in such a long time, ever since he was fifteen years of age and was taken by his mentor, Monsieur Thierry, away from his mother’s arms and under his wing, because he had seen great potential in him.

There was a small drawer in the library’s desk destined for his writing belongings, this drawer was not touched by Valjean or Cosette ever, as they had all agreed that everyone had their own drawer and should not take anything from anyone else’s. Javert had things in that drawer that no one had seen, not even Valjean, and sometimes he felt guilty for not letting the man see those bits and pieces of his past. Valjean had told him everything there was to know about him, he told him about his childhood and his younger days as a pruner, he told him about his sister, and told him the names of his nephews and nieces, one by one, and described each and every little boy and girl. But Javert had never spoken about his past, had never told Valjean about his mother, or his father (he had nothing to say about him, he didn’t even really know the man), or any other distant relatives he might have, but if he felt ashamed of his heritage, how would Valjean feel about it?

Javert opened the drawer, and the first thing he saw was the one he was sure Valjean would be most ashamed of. The silver and red adorned deck greeted him like an old friend, and Javert, hesitant at first, took it out of the drawer and placed it on top of the desk. His mother had slid it into a bag with what little belongings he had, with a poorly scribbled note that said that it would protect him from any gadjee who tried to damage him.

Javert burned the note, but for a strange reason kept the deck.

The cards were still the same way they were when they had first been found, they seemed new, he remembered his mother’s deck, it was old and the edges were folded or even ripped, and this deck, it looked like it had never been used... It HAD never been used, Javert, guessed that his mother got it especially for him, and that thought has bothered him for a while, he never understood why his mother would give him such a thing... He didn’t even know how to read cards.

Frustrated by the odd memories, he took the deck, placed it on the very back of the drawer, and closed it, determined to not touch it ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Gadjo man or Gadji woman is a person who does not have Romanipen (Romani 'spirit' so to speak). Usually this is a person who is not ethnic Romani, but an ethnic Romani may be considered as a Gadjee if he/she has no Romanipen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for 150+ fabulous hits in JUST ONE DAY! You guys are fabsome! I love you! And thank you for leaving kudos and comments, that makes me a happy bunny too! :3

They weren’t too far away from Paris, but still, Cielo felt that they would take ages to arrive.

The sun kissed her skin, and Cielo was in a good mood, so was her grandmother. Ever since they had told her they would be going to Paris instead of living France altogether and going to Spain, she had seemed happier, livelier, and Cielo felt relieved that her grandmother was feeling better.

Her grandmother never sang, but while the cart was moving and the horses galloped, she sang, she sang about mother India, about gods Cielo had only so far heard about from other elders, about the earth and the sky and the wind and the fire, and about hope for the family to be together forever, be through sadness or happiness.

The way things work in their commune is not too different from the way things work in any society. Men do the hard labor; women do the simpler tasks of cleaning, cooking, washing clothes and so on. Right now, it is the men who drive the carts and pull the horses, and the women who take care of the finer details, making sure the food, the clothes and other necessities are in their carts and taking care of the children.

Or like her grandmother, they will sing to make the trip more bearable.

There’s a particular person in her commune that Cielo does not like and does not trust, the worst part of it is that he seems to like her a little too much and that bothers her. Her mother has told her that she is still too young to be married off to someone, and she knows that if someone can pay enough to take her as a bride, it won’t matter if she doesn’t like him, but she refused to believe her mother would sell her to someone who Cielo didn’t like or didn’t want to be with. Her mother married her father not only because he paid a high bride price for her, but because she saw that he was a good and kind man and had never treated her harshly, nd that was what Cielo wanted for herself.

But this particular person didn’t seem to understand what Cielo wanted, so while she sat with her younger brother in her lap and her grandmother sang to herself, he approached her and sat beside her.

“Hello Cielo...”

“What do you want, Gyula?”

“You don’t have to be so rude to me... I am going to be your husband, after all.”

Gyula spoke this near Cielo’s ear, and she turned to him, glaring.

“I’d rather die a thousand deaths than let that happen...”

“Well then, prepare your funerals...” Gyula smirked. “You will be mine, even if I have to steal you.”

Cielo turned around and proceeded to ignore him, and he left. She was angered by the fact that he felt entitled to her, even if he did steal her, she’d fight tooth and nail against him; he would never have her by her own free will.

Deciding to forget the incident, she turned back to her grandmother.

“Puri mai, if your Emil has a wife and children, what if they are gadjee?”

“They have accepted him, so we will accept them.” She said, smiling, the mere thought of even seeing her lost son giving her a good mood.

“We should have some money prepared, I’m sure your Emil didn’t pay a bride money for his wife!”

“Oh, dear me! We should have thought about that!”

“Oh but don’t fret, puri mai, maybe the bride’s family didn’t want such a high price for their daughter. Maybe she isn’t that smart or pretty or maybe he didn’t need it, maybe he has a lot of money to go by!” Cielo suddenly felt excited. “Maybe he’s rich! Do you think he’ll want to let us stay with his family?”

“Cielo, we are not going to impose our presence to him...” Cielo’s grandmother sighed. “The last time I saw him, he seemed eager to be away from me... He was always more gadjo than anything else... But I want to see him, at least one last time; I want to see my boy...”

Cielo looked at her grandmother, as the old woman turned to look at the sky, her eyes closed, as if she were praying.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Javert’s head shot up, he had just woken up and he was washing his face, he could hear Valjean and Cosette chattering in the kitchen, and the birds singing outside the already open window. But he heard it again. The voice he hadn’t heard in such a long time.

_Soniya..._

As fast as he could, he dressed on his shirt and trousers, and left the room without even tying his hair, he walked down the stairs two at a time and when he made it downstairs, he startled Valjean and Cosette as he quickly made for the door.

“Javert?” Valjean followed him as Javert opened the door, blue eyes wide and skin damp with nervous sweat.

But there was no one there, the street was empty and so were the nearby houses, Javert stood on the doorway, half of him was relieved that he had imagined that, and half of him was disappointed that it was all his imagination. Valjean approached him, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Javert? Are you alright?”

“I... I just...” Javert turned to look at Valjean, he looked genuinely concerned, and so did Cosette, as she walked out of the kitchen. “No, I... I thought I heard a voice... Of someone I haven’t seen in a very long time...”

As Valjean guided him gently back into the house, Javert took one last look at the deserted street. A part of him had actually hoped the owner of that voice he had long forgotten were actually standing there by the gate, waiting for him.

But he wasn’t entirely sure how he would react if he saw he

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short, I have a lot of stuff I should be doing today D:
> 
> Soniya is a hindu word that basically means 'golden boy', most Romani are thought to come from certain parts of India so they have a lot of similar words or words that mean the exact same thing. I don't know, it seems to me that Javert's mother would have tried to be very affectionate to him to compensate for the absence of his father or something.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy children.
> 
> 200+ hits! I love you all very much :3 Please continue to give lots of love to this story.

The day of Cosette’s engagement party, was the day the caravan arrived in Paris.

The caravan marched into town and some people stared in amazement at the display of color and music and dancing, while others looked at them in plain disgust and contempt. Paris was not completely kind to the commune.

Still, Cielo did not feel discouraged; along with a few girls her age, she danced as the caravan moved into the city, the musicians played, while other members of the commune displayed their very own talents.

Cielo had a transparent, lavender colored veil, and she danced and made it flutter in different ways, her mother played a tambourine by her side. She smiled, she felt good.

The caravan brought along not only curious bystanders, but also, the police. Many officers seemed to have decided to look after the caravan as it marched into the town, maybe to make sure they weren’t causing any trouble.

“The police, thinking we’re going to steal something...” Gyula said, pulling the reins of his black horse as he galloped close to Cielo.

“You might...” She retorted, Gyula had a reputation of being a thief, a murderer and to lie his way out of dangerous situations.

“If you asked me to, Cielo, my love, I’d do anything you asked me to do.”

“Then do it and stay away from me.”

“That I can’t grant...” Gyula pulled on the horse’s reins again and galloped away, Cielo frowned and pouted, he had spoiled her good mood.

But she wouldn’t let him ruin it for long, she ran around the caravan, telling everyone to not be discouraged by the police, they had to show them that they had nothing to be ashamed of and people in the city had nothing to fear, and then proceeded to keep dancing along with the rest of the women.

And then she saw him. One of the police officers standing and watching the caravan, he seemed young, with black hair, slightly tanned skin and honey colored eyes, Cielo stopped to look at him, and he looked back, as if he didn’t at all feel like she was a lesser human or like he didn’t feel the need to look away or look down on her. She blushed, and covered her head with the veil, hiding behind her mother, who raised a brow and frowned.

“What is it?”

“Nothing...” She said, and looked over her mother’s shoulder; the officer was still looking at her.

Even when they passed him by, she could still feel his gaze as if it were burning her skin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Javert looked up from his glass of wine. He hadn’t even touched it. Cosette was dancing with her betrothed and Valjean looked slightly miserable.

But that was not the reason why Javert had looked up from his untouched glass of wine (It was cheap wine, and Valjean complained that Gillenormand could afford more), it was because he had heard it again. The voice he was so familiar with. He was certain this time, he stood from the couch where he was standing, ignoring Valjean calling after him, he crossed the ballroom, effectively avoiding the dukes and barons that danced along with their couples, and avoiding Cosette and that silly lawyer, both of whom stopped dancing and looked at him in confusion. Where was the inspector going? Valjean reached them a minute later, looking as puzzled as they did.

Javert abandoned the ballroom and walked into the mansion’s main hall and approaching the main doors. He could not only hear the voice, he could hear so much more, so many sounds he had rejected and pushed to the back of his mind so many years ago. The sounds of the tambourines, the guitars, the songs... But most importantly that voice...

_Soniya..._

He opened the double doors and walked outside, to the street... But it was empty. Again, he had been wrong.

The wind blew, making a few rebel strands of his graying hair escape from his ribbon, and he stood there, in the middle of the empty street, looking right and left.

It wouldn’t be possible, would it? For this person to even still be alive, it would be impossible.

But then, why did he keep hearing that voice?

Valjean stood next to him, he could feel him, and he made too much noise anyway. He put a hand on his shoulder and the other lay on his arm softly.

“Javert... Is something the matter?”

“No... I... I really don’t know anymore...”

“You worried Cosette, you worried me. Please tell me what is wrong.” Valjean looked genuinely concerned, and for once, Javert felt like he could actually, finally tell him about his past and his family.

“When we get home. Right now, it’s your daughter’s day and we cannot ruin it.”

He turned and walked back into the house, leaving Valjean more confused than he already was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The commune settled in an area in ruins. A child told them that there had been a big battle there and a lot of young men died, so one of the elders said a prayer for them, in case any of their souls was restless, that they would let them settle quietly and peacefully.

Cielo was still a little nervous about the policeman she had seen earlier, his eyes were stuck in her mind, as if he had decided to settle on her brain with just his gaze. She sat uncomfortably, cradling her sleeping little brother. One of the other girls, named Naina, walked over to her and sat by her side.

“Cielo, you seem uneasy.” She said. “Is something the matter?”

“No, not really.” Cielo sighed and looked away from her friend, who smiled.

“Was there some gadjo out there who stole your heart? That can’t be good! I don’t think your mother would approve.”

“My father was half gadjo...”

“But wasn’t your grandmother...”

“My grandmother loved my grandfather very much, and even though they were separated many times, they always managed to get back together until, well... They couldn’t...”

“Oh...” Naina sighed. “I hope my husband is like that...”

“You are getting married?”

“Yes, my father has already received the darro.”

“But, who are you marrying?” Cielo looked shocked; Naina was just fourteen years old.

“Yash.”

“Yash? But he’s dull and he’s boring and he’s ten years older than you!”

“But he’s kind and a good man and will take care of me and my father decided he was the best option.”

“When are you marrying?”

“Next week.”

“But it’s so soon, Naina!”

“I just don’t want to keep being a burden to my parents, the sooner I marry, the sooner they will be able to concern themselves about my other sisters.” Naina sighed. “But, what about you? I heard Gyula is very interested in you. How does that sound?”

Cielo made a face, and sat quietly with her sleeping brother in her arms. Naina grinned and pushed Cielo slightly, she responded by pushing her back, almost making the younger girl fall. They both laughed.

“No, but really, what about Gyula?”

“Don’t mock me, Naina, everyone knows Gyula is a thief, a murderer and a liar.”

“You still think it was his fault that they arrested your father?”

“It was his fault, Naina, my father had never stolen anything from anyone, and the only one who knew about that incident was Gyula.”

“Do you think he did it because he wanted to marry you?”

“If he did, then that’s very sad for him, because I’d rather die, Naina.”

Naina said nothing, if Cielo was right, then Gyula should have been expelled from the commune, but he was still there, his family was very important in the commune, so they would have obviously done something to prevent their only male child from ending up in jail and letting M. Javert go to jail instead, he was older and had children already.

 

The two girls sat there for a while, until Naina was called by her parents and Cielo had to go back to her family’s cart, Naina would have her engagement reunion the next day, and Cielo was invited as one of the friends of the bride-to-be.

 

Cielo slept that night wondering if her uncle Emil was in Paris, and if she’d be able to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darro is the dowry given to the father of a girl to compensate for the loss of their daughter, it is an estimate of everything the father of the bride-to-be has spent on his daughter, and is a guarantee that the daughter will be well taken care of, it is usually a very high sum of money.
> 
> The M. Javert mentioned by Naina is Cielo's father, not the other Javert xD
> 
> By the way, since this is canon divergence and all that, and Javert survived, I was wondering if you kids wanted any of the barricade boys to still be alive? Not all of them, maybe one or two :3 Give me ideas!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which MORE things happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for taking so long to post another chapter, life, game of thrones and a very inconvenient fever got in the way. I'm still sick, but I don't want to leave this story, so here you have yet another chapter.

Mathieu Bélanger was twenty two years old, and had only recently started to work at the Gendarmerie Nationale. After he had practiced for a year in his hometown.

Days after the caravan arrived in Paris, it was a sunny Monday and he arrived at the station in a good mood, still thinking about those blue eyes and that delicate body. A lot of people would judge him for even looking at that girl, but he really didn’t care. He was fascinated by her, like a sailor who has just seen a mermaid.

Mathieu worked under Inspector Javert’s watch. It wasn’t perfect, but the man seemed decent enough, he treated him and other younger officers with a certain fondness and he and the other older officers called the new ones ‘ducklings’. Mathieu soon figured out that it was because some of the young officers tended to follow Javert around like he was some sort of mother duck.

That day, Javert was grumpy, which was not entirely a new sight to behold as he apparently was always grumpy, but today, he was particularly grumpy, nobody knew why and nobody wanted to ask, but he had decided that today was the day all the ‘ducklings’ were going to ‘fly on their own’ which meant they would be sent on patrol by themselves and without the mother duck’s guidance.

Mathieu thought Javert was more of a mother wolf with a litter of wolf puppies, but none of the younger officers seemed like a wolf to him, so if Javert were a mother wolf, he’d be a very disappointed one.

The point was that Javert had sent them to patrol on their own, and the truth of the matter was that as soon as the ‘ducklings’ were sent to patrol on their own, some of them felt REALLY high and mighty and wanted to arrest everything in sight. They didn’t have bad intentions, they were all eager to please their superiors, but when they just started, some of them didn’t know better. Mathieu knew that, he had been like that the first year he started as an officer.

So it wasn’t surprising to him when he found himself in the middle of an argument of sorts, what was surprising, however, is the person involved in it.

Mathieu had known that officer Abel and his friend, officer what’s-his-name (Mathieu had no time to memorize it, he seemed like a very irrelevant person anyway) were the first ones who would act all high and mighty because they had been in arguments over ridiculous things with other young officers and even with Javert, but he didn’t imagine they would act the way they did that day. They were cornering a young girl and threatening to arrest her, and upon further inspection, Mathieu discovered it was the same girl from the caravan.

“Now speak up! Where did you get that money?” Officer what’s-his-name said, apparently they had been interrogating her for some time already.

“My mother gave it to me!” She answered, and for a moment, Mathieu was proud, she seemed defiant and not willing to let them treat her like a lesser human.

“And where did your mother steal it from?”

“We don’t steal; we earn our money with hard work!”

“Right...” Officer Abel snorted. “You obviously stole it; gypsies don’t know what hard work is, so we’re going to have to take you to the station.”

“Unless you have proof that she stole the money,” Mathieu decided he had seen enough, “I am sure the mother duck is going to smack the both of you in the head and send you to clean up after the convicts in the station. Stop frightening the girl and get back to doing real work.”

Abel seemed like he wanted to respond, but he didn’t, instead, the two officers turned and left, but they shot a warning glance at the girl before leaving, a clear indication that they’d be around and trying to find an excuse to arrest her. But Mathieu would be around too, and he was sure Javert would send them back if they had no proof of the girl’s ‘crimes’, he watched as both Abel and the other officer left and then turned to the girl, her eyes met his and she blushed, looking away.

“Thank you, monsieur...”

“Isn’t that what the police are for? You did no wrong and they should have not bothered you.”

“I didn’t steal anything.”

“I know you didn’t, I know a thief when I see one. But stay out of trouble and a little bit away from the police if you can.” Mathieu turned around and started to leave, but the girl held his arm.

“Wait monsieur!” She blushed yet again, still holding his arm. “I am actually... Looking for a police officer...”

“And what business would you have with a police officer?”

The girl’s blue eyes shifted to the floor, she seemed discouraged somehow.

“He’s family...”

“I see... Well I can’t help you if you don’t tell me his name.”

“Maybe he changed it... His last name was Javert.”

“Javert? And you say you are family of his?” Mathieu turned pale. Of course, he should have seen the resemblance! This girl had the same skin tone, the same hair color, even the same eyes. But nobody knew anything of any family of the elusive Inspector. Was she his daughter? A younger sister? No, she seemed entirely too young to be a sister. A daughter, then? Had he attempted to shamelessly court the Inspector’s daughter? Oh, Javert would probably have his head on his desk as a paperweight if he found out.

“Yes, I am his niece.”

Mathieu let out a small sigh of relief, but still, that didn’t mean the old wolf wouldn’t feel protective over the girl, she looked particularly young, so he most probably did. The girl said she and her mother were looking for Javert and if he could please take her to him.

“I cannot take you to him because he’s on patrol right now, and he could be anywhere... But I can show you where he lives."

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Cielo stood on the sidewalk, her hands holding on to the gate of the big house where the officer Bélanger had told her that her uncle lived in. It was a beautiful house, with a big garden and clear windows covered by white curtains. Cielo had never seen a house like this so close, had never held the gates of a house like this, and had never breathed in the scent of a garden in a house like this.

The front door of the house opened and Cielo stood away from the gate, a young, blond lady walked out of the house, Cielo had never seen anyone so pretty and so refined in her life, and she had only dreamed of wearing the kind of clothing that lady was wearing at the time.

“Papa, I will be back for lunch. I will just have tea with Marius and his aunt.” The blond lady walked the few steps to the pathway that led to the gate as if she were floating, and as she opened the gate, her gaze met Cielo’s, and she smiled. “Oh, hello. Is there something you need?”

“She is looking for Inspector Javert, Mademoiselle.”

“Oh, I see... Well the Inspector isn’t here right now, but you could wait for him inside, I am sure my papa will not mind that much if...”

“No!” Cielo blurted out, startling both the blond girl and Mathieu. “I cannot go inside on myself. Can I... Can I return later?”

“Of course!” The blond lady smiled. “I must leave now, but if you return, you can go right in and knock on the door, my papa will be there.”

And with a last smile, the blond lady left. Cielo wondered if she had any relation to her uncle, officer Bélanger had called her mademoiselle, maybe she was his daughter? Or maybe her uncle had married and taken in his wife’s family. In any case, Cielo should go back to the commune. She bid officer Bélanger goodbye and ran off, she had memorized the road, and she would come back with her mother and her grandmother.

She felt officer Bélanger’s gaze on her back as she left, and wondered if it had been wise to give him her name.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The day was coming to an end when Javert abandoned the station, in a particularly good mood. He had found out something for Valjean and he was proud of himself.

Ever since the incident in the Pont au Change he had avoided the blasted bridge, and crossing it made him uncomfortable, but today he was in a good mood, and not even the bridge could ruin it for him. He was a man with a purpose, and that purpose brought him a great amount of happiness today, so no bridge was going to ruin that for him.

As he drew closer to the house he shared with Valjean and Cosette (who would soon be married off to that dolt of a lawyer) he felt his good mood increasing. He opened the gate and practically ran over to the few steps that led to the front door, eager to tell his good news to Valjean.

“Jean?” He walked into the house. “Jean?”

“Oh, Inspector, you are home!” Cosette appeared from the kitchen; she had a tray and a few teacups, and smiled brightly at him. “Papa is in the living room.”

“Good. Jean? I have something very important to tell you.” Cosette followed Javert into the living room, as he voiced whatever it was he had to tell to Valjean. “You will never believe what I just discovered...”

Javert stopped mid sentence when he saw what was happening. Valjean was sitting right in front of three women, who immediately looked up at him, and as the older man turned to look at him, he smiled, as if he knew something that Javert didn’t, but as soon as Javert looked at the oldest of the three women, he knew. He understood.

Cosette stood by the entrance of the living room, smiling. But from where she was standing, she could not see Javert’s look of confusion.

It could not be. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think we needed a bit of humor. And fluff, a bit of fluff is always nice :3
> 
> Short chapter is short.

Javert stared at the woman, and then stared some more, and then looked at Valjean, questioningly.

It could not be, this woman was supposed to be in prison. She was supposed to be in prison or dead. He took as step back, turned around and made to leave the room, but was rapidly stopped by Valjean.

“Javert, where are you going?”

“I don’t know what sick joke you are trying to play at me, or who made you do this, but they need to leave, they need to leave now.”

“What? Why? Javert they are your family and...”

“No, no, nonononono! Why would you even let them into the house? Do you even KNOW the kind of people they are?”

“I am the kind to give others the benefit of the doubt.”

“And such trouble it has caused you. I will not have them in this house. Period.”

 

Javert walked out of the room, and Valjean frowned, looking not too amused, Cosette walked over to him and rested her small hand on his shoulder.

“Papa, they are his family, I am sure they cannot possibly be bad people. Javert isn’t a bad person; I guess he is just... Surprised that they are here...”

“I know, my dear.” Valjean turned to the old woman, smiling apologetically. “I will speak to him, if you’ll excuse me. Javert?”

 

The Inspector was in the kitchen, preparing some food for Nina, who meowed gently next to him, as Valjean arrived to the kitchen, Javert glared at him and turned around, moving about in the kitchen and doing anything to avoid Valjean’s gaze.

“Javert, they are your family.”

“I don’t care.”

“They came all the way to Paris looking for you. Your mother wants to spend her last days with you and I told her it was alright and they could stay as long as they wanted.”

“Have you gone mad?” Javert turned around, just in time for his mother and the other two women to enter the kitchen as well.

“But they are good people!”

“I don’t LIKE good people, Jean. This house isn’t a charitable institution that anyone can stay in, I know you like charity, but no.” The Inspector walked out of the kitchen, not even sparing a glance at the three women, with Valjean closely following him.

“Listen to me.”

“No, no...”

“Just listen to me... They are your family.”

“So what? Should I let them sit over my head? Do you know how many relatives I actually have?”

“But Javert...”

“If all of the gypsy relatives I have shifted here, where would we sleep? Let me do just one thing.”

“Javert...”

“I’ll go to the entrance of Paris and stand there to invite everyone that is a gypsy and tell them ‘Come to our home, my lover is mad’”

Cosette appeared out of nowhere and slapped Javert’s arm, frowning.

“You are being rude!”

“Yes, yes I am!”

“They are staying here, and they are staying here right now.”

“Ah they are?”

“Yes!” Cosette turned around and moved upstairs. “This is my house as well. At least until I marry. I don’t want to hear anything about prisons and I don’t want you to push them out of the house. They will live here and you will accept it.”

 

With that, the girl turned again and left to her rooms, slamming her door shut. Javert and Valjean just stood there, not knowing where that had actually come from, and the three women looked shocked, they had never seen or heard of a lady of such stature speaking that way to men.

“She’s going to be fine when she marries.” Javert said suddenly.

“I am actually worried about Marius now...” Valjean turned to him and held on to his arm gently. “Will you at least spare your own mother a glance?”

“Jean...”

“If not for your own sake, do it for mine.”

 

He did, his eyes met his mother’s, and all the memories of the time he’d spent in a dirty cell with nothing but her lullabies and gentle words came back to him in an instant. He knew, he had always known, that she hadn’t been a bad person, that everything she did, she did to protect him, but he had been stubborn and had never accepted that fact. His mother walked over to him slowly, her hand reaching up to touch his face.

“Soniya...”

“Don’t...” Javert backed away. “Don’t call me that...”

 

And he too walked to the stairs and to the room he shared with Valjean, closing it, but not as loudly as Cosette. Valjean shot an apologetic glance to the three women.

“Please forgive him...” Valjean said. “He’s just... Confused. He’ll come around, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I perfectly understand monsieur. A mother always understands.”

“There is a smaller house in the other side of the garden that you could use, it has two rooms, but there’s no kitchen.”

“It is quite alright, monsieur. We should pick up our things first, I believe and...” Javert’s mother could not finish her sentence because Nina emerged from the kitchen, startling her and causing the old woman to take a step back. “A-a cat!”

“Ah, yes, this is the house pet, Nina.” Valjean picked up the small cat and scratched her ears.

“I... I am not sure we should be near the cat...” This time, it was Cielo who spoke.

“Why?”

“We believe that cats are impure because they lick themselves... But this is your home, monsieur, and that is your pet, we are just your guests and we should adapt to your home, not the other way around.” Madame Javert looked at her daughter in law and her granddaughter, and then frowned. “Where is Kavi?”

“Oh... Kavi?” Cielo’s mother turned around and looked for the boy, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe he’s in the garden? We can look for him there and I will show you the garden house.”

 

Valjean led them to the other side of the property, where the smaller house was, and indeed, Kavi was there, the little boy was attempting to climb on a large willow tree, and his mother looked alarmed. Valjean walked over to the tree and carried Kavi back to his mother’s arms. After he showed them the house, he told them there was also a gate on the back in case they wanted to leave or enter through that gate, but he also told them he was sure it wouldn’t be necessary.

A few hours later, the three women were settled in the small house in the garden of the back of the house in Rue Plumet. Jean Valjean was satisfied with the events of that day.

Now it was time to talk to Javert about it.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

By the time he had finished helping the women settle into the house, it was night time. Cosette was already sleeping and he entered his room to see that Javert was lying on the bed, but he didn’t seem to be sleeping, he already knew what Javert was like when he was really asleep.

Deciding not to pay attention to his sulking, Valjean changed into his nightshirt and slipped under the blankets, despite the day’s weather, the nights were cold and sometimes they needed more than one blanket to keep themselves warm... That and _other_ activities. So as soon as he was safely under the covers, he snaked one arm around Javert’s waist, who groaned in response and turned around to return the embrace, Valjean snuggled against his chest, and laid there quietly.

“You are not crazy.” Javert said after a moment of silence.

“I know I’m not.”

“A little old and a bit annoying sometimes, but not crazy.” To this, Valjean laughed.

“I am going to take that as a compliment.”

“It is.”

“We have a dinner with M. Thierry tomorrow.”

“Do we?”

“Yes we do. I didn’t think he would approve of you lodging with a convict...”

“Pardoned ex-convict, Jean.”

“Even so... In the letter he sent today he said it was to be expected. I think he always knew it, didn’t he?”

“Knew what?”

“That we would end up together.”

“I guess so.”

 

They remained in silence for a while, holding on to each other and simply enjoying each other’s company. And suddenly, Valjean removed himself from Javert’s embrace and sat up on the bed.

“What was that you needed to tell me when you got home today?”

“Not tonight, Jean, maybe tomorrow.”

“Oh... Alright then...”

“Go to sleep.”

 

Valjean sighed. Javert seemed calmer and maybe they could approach the subject of his family in a calmer manner the next day.

 

He could only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roma people believe cats are impure because they lick their private parts. Private parts of any species are considered impure.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is fluff, Cosette is awesome, as always, and there's revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have got to be kidding me kids, kids you gotta be kidding...  
> 500+ hits! I love you all, have cookies and kisses and rainbows and love and and and I love you *-* Thank you so much!

Jean Valjean woke up to the feeling of soft lips against his neck and big hands sliding like snakes underneath his nightshirt.

Downstairs, he could hear Cosette’s chatter and what seemed like the voice of Javert’s young niece... How strange it sounded, but it was true. Javert had family, and they were here.

The day of Cosette’s engagement party, when they were finally back in the safety of their home, Javert had told him about his mother. Noor (Javert had no idea what her maiden name was) had been arrested for fortune telling, something that was considered illegal, and sent to a prison ‘not too different from Toulon’ in Javert’s words. There she met a man that all the other convicts only called Javert and who claimed he had no given name, and despite their cultural differences, they married inside the prison and remained together until a month before their child was born, when Noor’s husband got into a fight with another inmate that tried to take advantage of Noor and he was considered a dangerous man and sent to another section of the prison, Noor was taken to an area with only female prisoners, where she gave birth to her child, whom she named Emil.

“A Roma child has three names, you see,” Javert had said that night, “the first, is the name a mother gives her child as soon as he is born, and is a name only she knows, to confuse spirits, they say, then there is a name given when he is baptized, the name all the commune will know him by, then there is a name of the child’s choosing, when they come of age and if they decided to leave the commune, that is the name with which people should know them. I have a name with which the commune _should_ know me, but I have never used it.”

So this child of convicts grew up in and out of the jail, his mother never understood that she did not have to live out of fortune telling, and a few years later, when he was five years of age, his mother and father reunited, so he did spend some time knowing his father, Javert says he probably saw more of him during those few years than many children see of their own fathers in a lifetime, surprisingly, his convict father was the one who taught him to read.

His mother was again heavily pregnant by the time M. Thierry came to collect her older son, and her husband had again been sent away, he was fifteen years of age when that happened, M. Thierry said he saw in this boy son of convicts great potential and that he would do his best to turn him into an honest man, dedicated to the well being of society. Noor had no way of objecting and no strength to fight the man for her son, she was almost about to give birth to another child when her older son was taken away from her.

So the child Emil left the prison and was given a year of training by M. Thierry, and by sixteen, he was sent to Toulon, under his third name, the name he chose for himself, from that day on, and no other, he became Philip Javert, and Emil, the sweet child, was no more. In a year he forgot the songs, traditions and stories he had known for fifteen years and had embraced a new name, a new society and even a new religion, shedding the skin of his heritage and forgetting everything about his parents.

But... Oh! That was one sneaky hand there! Valjean groaned and let Javert do with him as he pleased, it wasn’t like he wanted to actually put up a fight, he was too lazy and it was Saturday, Javert didn’t go anywhere on Saturdays, so he let him do what he wanted, that meant that the hand on his crotch could touch all it wanted, he wasn’t going to shove it away.

“We should go downstairs...” He said, gasping for air as Javert’s teeth bit playfully on his earlobe.

“No, we should stay here in bed; there are a lot of things I want to do to you.”

“Is that so?” Valjean let out a soft moan, the hand on his crotch was distracting him.

“Mhmm...” Javert’s voice rumbled against Valjean’s skin, sending shivers all over his body. He climbed on top of Valjean, attacking his lips in a hungry kiss, the blankets fell from their bodies, forgotten, as Valjean’s shaking hands slid over Javert’s back, sometimes caressing slowly, sometimes digging short nails over the already marked skin.

“Javert... We need to...” The sentence was cut by yet another kiss, the hand on Valjean’s crotch now forced his legs to part, and those lips were yet again on his neck, leaving open mouthed kisses in every inch of skin they could find. Valjean gasped and moved his hips against Javert’s and then... He looked at the door and Javert’s mother was standing right there. “Javert! Javert get off me!”

“What?”

“Get off me!”

“Why? What’s...? Oh my God! What are you doing here?!” Javert turned as red as the freshly cut roses his mother was holding on a small vase. The woman, however, didn’t seem at all surprised.

“It is late to still be in bed.” The woman said, simply, she walked into the room as if she owned the place and put the vase on a shelf, right between Valjean’s precious candlesticks. “And you must eat, both of you.”

“Get out!”

“I am heading out.” The old woman walked out of the room at a torturously slow pace, she stopped by the door. “It was not surprising at all. But respectable men should marry; I shall not let you continue to live in sin with my son, monsieur, he has a mother, and you should respond honorably to his mother. Now get dressed and go downstairs to eat.”

Madame Javert left the room, and both men looked at her retreating figure as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head that was reciting Bible verses. What did the woman mean by responding honorably to her? Valjean thought about the absurdity of the whole scene that had just unfolded before his eyes and laid back into the mattress, laughing uncontrollably.

“What are you laughing at, have you gone mad?” Javert looked at him, frowning.

“I just... I...” There were tears in Valjean’s eyes. “The last time something like this happened to me... I was fifteen and her mother wasn’t as forgiving...”

“Oh my God... Come on, you old idiot, get out of bed and get dressed... The mood has been killed...”

Breakfast was had among chatter from Cosette and Cielo, and some small attempts from Valjean to speak to Kavi, but Cielo told him that Kavi hadn’t talked much since their father had died. Later, Nadia Javert told Valjean that they could not bear living for free in his home, and Valjean dismissed her, telling her everything was alright and that it was not a problem. He asked Cosette if she would go shopping for dresses and told her to take Cielo with her, under the argument that ladies should dress nicely.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Cielo looked at everything, her mouth wide open in admiration, one of the seamstresses made a comment about her looking like an abandoned child and Cosette shot her a nasty glare, making M. le Couturier apologize profusely to her and to Cielo. He then made a comment about how blue Cielo’s eyes were, and showed them both the latest fashions. Cielo was overwhelmed, no one had ever showed her anything this expensive or even let her touch it, for fear of her ‘dirty hands’ ruining such delicate fabric or fearing that she would steal it, but M. le Couturier was letting her touch the fabric, and letting her look at the dresses and telling her with pride that he had been a designer for great ladies since he was her age and saying how he had dressed the queen and that duchess and this princess. Cosette just smiled politely and told him that they were looking for anything he had at the moment that could fit Cielo and wouldn’t make her look like an old madam, she was, after all, of marrying age. M. le Couturier fluttered like the butterfly Cielo was sure he could be and produced various dresses in various colors that he said would suit her skin and bring out her eyes, and Cosette made her try each and every one of those dresses on, to make sure they weren’t purchasing anything that wasn’t fit for the girl. Cielo felt slightly uncomfortable and Cosette noticed.

“What is it?”

“I just... I am not used to this... And I don’t think none of this will change the fact that people will still look at me like I’m a dirty gypsy... The only reason M. le Couturier hasn’t kicked me out of here is because I come with you.”

“Oh Cielo, that is not true. M. le Couturier only treats us nicely because we pay him, if we come here and try everything on and don’t buy a thing, he will badmouth us forever like he did to Madame de Courfeyrac a few months ago. He’s only nice because you have money, everybody hates him. Now listen to me, my papa thinks I do not remember a thing, but I do, and I know I am not his daughter and that, had he not come for me, I would probably not be alive today, and if I were, I would be living on the streets and dressed in rags. No, Cielo, look at me. Do I feel ashamed of having been under the care of terrible people who treated me worse than a dog? No, because those experiences, and the time I’ve lived with my papa have turned me into the woman I am today, no, no, do not look away, look at me. Do not ever let anyone shame you for who you are, do not ever forget who you are, because everyone else who knows you will not forget it, wear your heart like a crown and use who you are as an armor, and that way, no matter what people say of you, they will never hurt you, do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

“Now, would you like that dress? I think it’s a lovely shade of blue. And this pink one over here, and the other two you tried on before this one, don’t you agree?” Cosette smiled at her, and Cielo smiled back.

“Yes.”

“Perfect, monsieur Leonard will be delighted with the amount of money you’ll give him today and will love you forever even if you show up here in rags.”

They paid for the dresses and M. le Couturier suggested (or insisted) Cielo leave wearing the blue dress and if asked, to say that it came from Monsieur Leonard’s atelier. Cosette made a face, but let the man be, and both girls walked out of the store only to be face to face with officer Bélanger.

“You have a habit of appearing wherever I go, mademoiselle.” He said to Cielo, and Cosette giggled and walked away a few steps, to allow them to speak with a semblance of privacy.

“I could say the same about you, sir; you seem to be following me around.”

“And now look at you! All dolled up like a lady of high stature. I take it that your uncle has been kind to you?”

“No, my uncle has been anything but. This is a gift from monsieur Fauchelevent.”

“Ah, good, old monsieur Fauchelevent, always giving everything to everyone.”

“Are you jealous, officer? Did you want to be the first to give me an expensive dress so no one would treat me like the lowly gypsy that I most certainly am?”

“Even if I wanted to, how could I? I’m just a poor police officer.”

“Well then, M. le Policier... You should be doing your job instead of harassing young ladies.”

Mathieu laughed and walked away, Cielo looked at him until he mixed with the crowd and was out of sight, and then proceeded to walk over to Cosette, who had a giant smile on her face.

“Is that your suitor?” She asked with a grin.

“No, I don’t even like him.”

“Oh, that is exactly what a lady is supposed to say when she actually likes a suitor. Come, let’s head home now.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Nadia Javert did not stop in her insistence of being at least a housekeeper in exchange for Valjean letting them stay in the house. Valjean dismissed her as many times as he could, but Madame Javert told him it was no use, they felt indebted to him and he should accept the offer or he’d never hear the end of it, Javert made a face but said nothing, and by the time they had to leave for dinner with M. Thierry, Nadia had memorized everything she needed to know about the house and had figured how to navigate around it. She was thankful for the opportunity of being useful despite Valjean’s reassurance that she did not need to do it and that it was not necessary. When he and Javert left, Nadia helped them both into their coats and assured that the house would be taken care of.

Dinner with M. Thierry was a strange affair to Jean Valjean, the old man didn’t seem at all surprised that he was there, but did shoot him some strange glances every once in a while. The man looked nothing like the man Valjean remembered, he was older, that much as obvious, and Valjean knew he was much older than him, his face was covered in wrinkles everywhere and he seemed to have been well fed, his home was filled with luxurious things Valjean had never in his life seen or needed and it seemed like he lived by himself with his wife who was just as old as him, a housekeeper and a maid. Why the man needed both a housekeeper AND a maid when the housekeeper could do the job of both was beyond Valjean’s understanding.

M. Thierry had actually invited them for dinner to propose Javert the management of a prison far from Paris, he told him he didn’t need to decide it right away, but that he saw him as a very valuable person who could do great things managing the prison, according to himself, he had read the note that Javert left the night he had ‘the incident’ at the bridge and he had found it most satisfying, he told him he thought his ideas needed to be a reality and there was no better way but to make him the head of a prison to set an example. On their way home, Javert had been quiet, and he had remained quiet the rest of the night until he was in bed, with Valjean snuggled against his chest and looking up at him worriedly.

“M. Thierry isn’t looking any younger, is he?” He asked suddenly, Javert gave a half smile.

“No, if anything, he’s looking older every day.”

“When did he get so fat?”

“I don’t know, I wish I knew what he eats and how much of it.” Valjean laughed, feeling Javert’s chest rumble with laughter against his cheek.

“He only ever stops eating when it’s time to drink.” Javert laughed openly now, as Valjean hugged his waist. “I will not let him take you away from me and into some ugly prison, I won’t let him.”

“Well, he’s always been a Prefect somewhere; he’s used to getting what he wants...”

“I will go over to him and tell him ‘Hey, fat old man, I will not let you take my Philip away, he belongs to me now.’”

“Did you see how he looked at you?”

“I hadn’t felt so scrutinized since my sister caught me trying to court the neighbor’s daughter. It was like he was going to ask me what my intentions where, like I was some kind of monster who was going to take away his precious child.”

“It’s the way you look at that ninny of a lawyer; I don’t know why you are so surprised.”

They laughed quietly for a while, the dim lights on the candlesticks slowly dying as the candles consumed themselves, Javert noticed that Valjean was slowly falling asleep, and decided to join him and not think much about M. Thierry’s offer, he could always say no, a few years back he would have said yes with no hesitation, but it was different now, his home was here and his family was Valjean and...

He sat up in the bed as if he had been poked on the back, almost making Valjean fall off the bed, the older man looked up in surprise, a bit peeved that his sleep was being disturbed when he was just about to catch it.

“There is something very important I have to tell you.” the Inspector said as he got out of bed.

“Can it not wait until morning?” Valjean complained, curling under the covers.

“No, if I wait until morning I’ll forget it again. Jean, this is important.”

“What?”

“I found one of your sister’s children...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, the chapter was not cut by AO3, that's how it ends.
> 
> Dun dun duuuuuuuuun òuó suspense! I love suspense! Don't you?


End file.
